Here’s the first reporting I’ve seen on Title III of the Senate immigration bill. San Francisco Chronicle reporter Carolyn Lochhead writes:
A government that cannot issue passports to 3 million U.S. citizens in time for summer holidays is expected to create a vast work-authorization system for more than 7 million U.S. employers and eventually all 146 million U.S. workers that is quick, accurate and safe.
Up to now, there has been almost no public discussion, much less analysis, of this part of the Senate bill, though the House Immigration Subcommittee held a hearing on issues in electronic employment elgibility verification in April. There, I testified on the privacy and civil liberties concerns with such a system. Even yesterday, though, Senator Ted Kennedy appearing on Fox News Sunday touted the strong employment eligibility verification system in the Senate bill.
Broad immigration reform is needed, especially with increased legal avenues for immigration, but electronic employment eligibility verification will fail. The only question is how much damage will be done to law-abiding Americans’ privacy in the process.
The Technology Liberation Front is the tech policy blog dedicated to keeping politicians' hands off the 'net and everything else related to technology.